Hi all u IB'ers who'll be graduating in May 06, did u decide what uni to go to yet? And what to study/major in?

I'm starting to really stress out about all the aplications and tests and stuff (that pesky SAT thing ) plus worrying about what college/uni is right for me and if my grades are good enough for me to be admitted Ouff!

Personally, I think I'd like to go to Princeton ('cause apparently their international and public affairs program is really good plus they offer need-based financial aid to international students), but I'm worried I'll screw up totally on the SAT, as i have no experience with standardized tests like that, and then I won't get in. Plus everybody I know keeps saying their results on the actual exams were way lower than their predicts, and my IB predicts are only 39!

Anyways, i'd like to hear a little from u all about how ur college/uni plans are at the moment, and if any of you have any tips for upping my SAT scores, please tell me!

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
Hi all u IB'ers who'll be graduating in May 06, did u decide what uni to go to yet? And what to study/major in?

Anyways, i'd like to hear a little from u all about how ur college/uni plans are at the moment, and if any of you have any tips for upping my SAT scores, please tell me!

Get the blue SAT book from collegeboard.com. It's really good. It has many practise papers. I had no idea how to do it until i got the book and i managed to get a good score. although so many people from Princeton have PERFECT SATs. Dont forget when you are in the essay section, write like hell!! I didnt even manage to finish my essay but i wrote a lot so i got a 10/12. You only have two testings days/sessions to do for your SAT, one in October, one in November (one for SAT reasoning, one for SAT II) if you are planning to apply for early admission.

well i'm just thinking about the unis too... i don't even know which country i'll go to (or, better said - if i persuade my parents to let me go to the UK or if i have to stay in the CZE )... however, i¨ve already chosen three unis i'm definitely applying to - Edinburgh (Economics and Law), St.Andrews (probably straight Economics) and Glasgow (Law/Economics)

I might apply for early admission, but only if I feel that my application, the personal essay + the SATs are as good as I can get them by the deadline. Anyways, if I don't get in any of the places i wanna go, I'm taking a year off to work as an au pair in France (My mum wants me to take a year off before uni, so we agreed that the first year I'll only apply to the unis i really wanna go to and if i get in I go, if not, I take a year off, retake the SATs and possibly some IB exams and then apply again).

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
I might apply for early admission, but only if I feel that my application, the personal essay + the SATs are as good as I can get them by the deadline. Anyways, if I don't get in any of the places i wanna go, I'm taking a year off to work as an au pair in France (My mum wants me to take a year off before uni, so we agreed that the first year I'll only apply to the unis i really wanna go to and if i get in I go, if not, I take a year off, retake the SATs and possibly some IB exams and then apply again).

yeah i quite fancy the idea of having a year off, but then i'd be 20 when i start uni

Don't worry, you're not the only one sweating bullets over the SAT. But, it is not quite as important now as it used to be, particularly for you. If they know that you are an international applicant, they may not expect you to do as well as applicants from the US, because you obviously have not had the experience. Plus, SAT scores will not necessarily make or break your application, just try to get a good range. Make sure the other parts of your application are as strong as possible, especially your secondary school record (which is the most imp. part of an application at most schools).

Personally, I am worrying a bit about my SAT scores as well, and am undecided as to whether I should take it again. I got 710M, 620V, 600W. Not quite what I (or my parents) wanted, but it works. If you can strive for a score of around 700 in each category, I would say your admission is pretty much solidified (but thats asking a lot!) As you probably know, Princeton is one (if not the hardest) colleges to be admitted to, so just make sure you are at the top of your game

You can use this link to take a Practice SAT, it is about equal in difficulty and they score it as if it is the real test. I took it beforehand, and got almost the same score. (Just make sure you are aware of time limits, etc.)http://www.collegeboard.com/student/..._one/test.html

I dont really know whether i wanna go to the US but I am seriously considering applying to some US colleges as most of them offer financial aid which i need badly......anyone can tell me what US colleges are good for international relations/politics?

Well, obviously I fell for Princeton, because their international and public affairs program is strong (read more about Woodrow wilsons school of international and public affaris at www.princeton.edu), but if money is important to u, u might want to look at wells college. Apparently their program is really good (a friend of mine goes there), and it's about half the price of places like Princeton, Columbia etc.
I would have loved to go to Columbia as well, but they hardly give any financial aid to international students, plus it's even harder to get in there than Princeton and they weigh the SAT scores more.

And thanks for the help, jcdoughty06

btw, if you want to get info on american colleges and universities, you might want to check out www.acuinfo.com, I found it very helpful You can also use their express response form thing to request info from the unis u're interested in when u sign up

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
Well, obviously I fell for Princeton, because their international and public affairs program is strong (read more about Woodrow wilsons school of international and public affaris at www.princeton.edu), but if money is important to u, u might want to look at wells college. Apparently their program is really good (a friend of mine goes there), and it's about half the price of places like Princeton, Columbia etc.
I would have loved to go to Columbia as well, but they hardly give any financial aid to international students, plus it's even harder to get in there than Princeton and they weigh the SAT scores more.

And thanks for the help, jcdoughty06

yeh im thinking of applying to princeton early decision. because they admit like 49% of the people from early admit, and like 5% from regular admission. Combined with the 10% admission rate of itln students, pretty low chance for me =S For my SAT's, i got 780 on writing, 760 on maths and 690 on verbal. SAT II's will be a major challenge for me though, since they dont seem to test many of my IB subjects.

(Original post by water_lili)
For my SAT's, i got 780 on writing, 760 on maths and 690 on verbal. SAT II's will be a major challenge for me though, since they dont seem to test many of my IB subjects.

I know, it's impossible to choose! But it looks like I'll do mine in French, maths (Do any of you know how hard the level II math test is?) and probably litterature. I wish I could change the litterature one for history, but with what I know about American history, I hardly think that's a smart move Which ones do u reckon u'll take?

Ur SAT scores are really good though! I'm hoping I can manage to scrape together something like that Ouff, better start working I guess...

Don't worry about your IB predicted grades vs the actual ones - your actual results don't matter because you've already been accepted and sent them loads of money - it's sort of after the fact.

The math level 2 test is easy if you practice for it - the types of problems they test aren't hard (theoretically precalculus), are very predictable, you just need to be able to do them quickly without stupid mistakes. I went through the Princeton Review book for it and got an 800 - there is an incredibly nice curve on the test. 10% of takers get an 800.

PrinsesseAstrid, what makes you say that Columbia cares more about SAT's than Princeton? I don't think that's true at all. The Ivy Leagues all have a very similar admission process.

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
I know, it's impossible to choose! But it looks like I'll do mine in French, maths (Do any of you know how hard the level II math test is?) and probably litterature. I wish I could change the litterature one for history, but with what I know about American history, I hardly think that's a smart move Which ones do u reckon u'll take?

Yeh! im really worried about my SAT IIs. I think I'll take maths II. but I know im going to bomb chemistry, because SL doesnt cover all of SAT II chemistry, and Im bad at it anyway. I wish i could do history but dont know enough for world or american history either and that leaves literature but i found that test REALLY hard. in all my practise exams, i get like 60%. and I find that i can challenge the answers to some questions because it is so subjective!!!

I just ordered the literature SAT II prep book yesterday, so I'm hoping that'll help me. But it still sucks, cause I'm really not good at that kind of stuff. I should probably try to take a practice test as well, but my schedule is so full these days it's not even funny (working 8 hrs a day, cleaning the house twice a week, helping my two best friends moving out + reading the nine (!!!) books I'm supposed to read over summer).

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
Hi all u IB'ers who'll be graduating in May 06, did u decide what uni to go to yet? And what to study/major in?

I'm starting to really stress out about all the aplications and tests and stuff (that pesky SAT thing ) plus worrying about what college/uni is right for me and if my grades are good enough for me to be admitted Ouff!

Personally, I think I'd like to go to Princeton ('cause apparently their international and public affairs program is really good plus they offer need-based financial aid to international students), but I'm worried I'll screw up totally on the SAT, as i have no experience with standardized tests like that, and then I won't get in. Plus everybody I know keeps saying their results on the actual exams were way lower than their predicts, and my IB predicts are only 39!

Anyways, i'd like to hear a little from u all about how ur college/uni plans are at the moment, and if any of you have any tips for upping my SAT scores, please tell me!

Do you know whether the international and public affairs program (or the course of international relations) is popular among international students?

If u've already written this, then sorry, but what are u thinking about majoring in, water lili? And do u know what time princeton will post this year's application papers on their web site? I wish i could get them soon so I'd have some idea how much time it'll take me to put together a good app + be able to start the essay etc. What other colleges are u applying to?

(Original post by ylime)
PrinsesseAstrid, what makes you say that Columbia cares more about SAT's than Princeton? I don't think that's true at all. The Ivy Leagues all have a very similar admission process.

I remember reading somewhere on the columbia college website that they're one of the colleges (if not the college) that is most particular about the SATs. It said something about recognizing that ppl from schools where they grade harder should the same chance etc. and then it said something like therefore all secondary school reslults will be viewed in light of ur SAT scores and interview or something like that... (How can that be fair, not everybody has the chance to go to the interview???) I might be completely wrong (mixing up this with some other uni or something like that), but I'm pretty sure I read something like that.

Well, anyone considering universities such as MIT ? I am hoping to study engineering (undecided about which field though) in the US, and MIT has a good reputation (if not the best) for that kind of education. So, have any IB students applied to MIT (or any other "good" engineering uni.?) I'd be interested in knowing about the process, as well as their grades

(Original post by PrinsesseAstrid)
If u've already written this, then sorry, but what are u thinking about majoring in, water lili? And do u know what time princeton will post this year's application papers on their web site? I wish i could get them soon so I'd have some idea how much time it'll take me to put together a good app + be able to start the essay etc. What other colleges are u applying to?

Not sure when princeton is putting their apps, but the common apps is up via the net, and I think Princeton uses that dont they? In the common app, the essay topics are all very general. like the significant influence in your life, significant experience, or you can make up your own topic. Princeton will have a supplementary application but yeh..dont know when that will be up. I think i might apply for yale, harvard and swarthmore...a long shot in everything, so im just expecting to stay in melbourne. I want to do law but they dont have it in american colleges, so I'll probably choose commerce...something feasible. But im not very interested in HL economics at the moment though...so a bit of a dilemma.

I was thinking about taking law too, but the bad thing about that is it kinda ties you down to one place, axcept of course if u can do something within international law (which is actually what I would most like to do), but the process is long and expensive (the calculation ANSA made for me showed I'd most likely graduate with a loan of about $200 000-$250 000) and it's hard to get good internships. I've also thought about corporate law... But anyways, if u go to the US you can take pre law and still major in whatever you feel like (i.e. international relations ), as long as ur school offers it, right? That's how I understood it anyways...